There continues to be a paucity of researchers conducting basic, clinical, and translational research on priority pathogens and the methods to prevent and treat infections by these agents. The Career Development in Biodefense program of the of the New England Regional Center for Excellence for Biodefense and Emerging Diseases is designed to increase the pool of highly skilled investigators in all aspects of research on priority pathogens. This Career Development program will integrate educational and training efforts in priority pathogens from both the basic science and the clinical aspects. The objectives of this program are to recruit investigators at early stages in their careers into work on priority pathogens through training in basic science and clinical/translational research and to provide opportunities for continuing education for all investigators in priority pathogen research throughout the New England region. We propose a combination of individual programs and group programs. The central component of the individual programs we propose is an Early Career Development Program for Recruitment into Research on Priority Pathogens. The focus of this career development program is to identify and support individuals early on in their training and recruit them into careers relevant to research on priority pathogens. Training in this program spans the broad range of basic laboratory-based research, clinical investigation in human subjects, and translational research. Awards will fund applicants to conduct a research training program relevant to priority pathogens of 2 or 3 years in duration, which will prepare them for more independent research or to be successful applicants for additional career development research awards from the NIH. To complement the individual programs, we propose group educational opportunities designed to promote continuing education of the New England biomedical scientific community in areas of priority pathogen research. The group programs we propose fall into three areas: (1) an annual scientific retreat;(2) a seminar series;and (3) workshops on topics of relevance to New England investigators conducting research on priority pathogens.